VC Artists Dover Quartet on Their Biggest Lessons Learnt Outside of School

Dover Quartet's Camden Shaw discusses some of the biggest chamber music lessons the ensemble have learnt outside of school

Being in a chamber music group opens up a wide palette of music-making possibilities and allows one to perform some of the best music ever written. Playing the music is one thing. What about staying together as a group for the years to come? What kind of inter-personal skills between your chamber music colleagues should you learn?

Dover cellist Camden Shaw shares their expert advice on the topic.

 

VC Artists Dover Quartet discusses about Their Biggest Lessons which are not taught in school

 

After nearly 10 years in the Dover Quartet, I’ve learned a few things about making music that I now find indispensable – things that are never talked about in school. There are too many lessons to choose from, in all sorts of arenas – but I’ve chosen here to focus on three ways to ensure a rehearsal is effective. You’ll notice that these elements work in a circle: each will lead to the next and be informed by the one before. (Surprise surprise… like any other profession, it’s all about PEOPLE.)

LESSON 1: TREAT EVERY DISAGREEMENT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN

How often have you suggested something in rehearsal only to have it shot down immediately? Whenever someone’s ideas are dismissed without consideration, it is extremely destructive, in two ways:

1. It is symptomatic inflexible thinking. This will prevent musicians from learning and growing over time. If your first instinct becomes “I disagree,” you’re in trouble.

2. It makes the idea’s originator feel stupid, disrespected, insecure, and eventually, bitter, if your group is lucky enough to be together for years.

Whenever someone suggests an idea, DO NOT ALLOW yourself to dismiss it instantly. Instead, train yourself to think: “what can I learn from this point of view?” You may never agree with the new idea, but if you automatically disregard your colleagues’ imaginations, you will stunt your own growth.

LESSON 2: PICK YOUR “BATTLES”

If you have followed the advice in Lesson 1, you have been open minded and made your fellow musicians feel heard and respected. That will ALREADY make them much more likely to want to treat your ideas with the same respect. Still, on occasion, you may be outvoted on something that means a great deal to you. In these cases, (as long as you heed Lesson 3!) it’s alright to dig in.

I recommend a “dig in” to open-mindedness ratio of 1:10. If you dig in on every issue, it will not carry much weight, because it is the norm for your behavior. Instead, if you’re usually very open to possibilities, it will really mean something when you don’t want to budge. (Keep in mind, this doesn’t mean you’ll get what you want only 10% of the time: if your rehearsal atmosphere has been cultivated well, your colleagues will already agree with many of your suggestions.)

LESSON 3: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF KINDNESS

This is the biggest lesson of all, and of course it applies to life itself, not just to music. The way you make someone feel when you interact with them has about 5x more sway over their chances of agreeing with you than the quality of your idea.

I used to think that, as we got older, the Quartet would drop the stupid, time-wasting politeness in rehearsal, and just say what you think, unvarnished. After all, so much time is wasted being polite, right? But … you know what REALLY wastes time? Arguing.

Arguing wastes SO. MUCH. TIME. The worst, and longest arguments I’ve ever been witness to in the last 10 years were not ultimately about music–they were about insecurity. When we’re made to feel insecure, we fight more.

So you know what? A little kindness goes a long way. And it doesn’t mean you have to be “fake.” After all, if you consider kindness “fake” you may want to examine whether you think you’re a good person.

#micdrop

Happy, kind rehearsing to you all!

–Camden

 

 

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Hailed as “the next Guarneri Quartet” (Chicago Tribune) and “the young American string quartet of the moment,” (New Yorker), the Dover Quartet catapulted to international stardom in 2013, following a stunning sweep of all prizes at the Banff Competition and has since become one of the most in-demand ensembles in the world. In addition to its faculty role as the inaugural Penelope P. Watkins Ensemble in Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music, the Dover Quartet holds residencies with the Kennedy Center, Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, Artosphere, and the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival. Among the group’s honors are the Avery Fisher Career Grant, Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award, and Lincoln Center’s Hunt Family Award. The Dover Quartet has won grand and first prizes at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and fourth prize at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition.